Tartu, Estonia — Ah, fossils at last! Bill Ausich and I are here to explore several topics, but the main one is describing the crinoids in a Silurian (Aeronian) Konservat Lagerstätte at Kalana Quarry in central Estonia. Much more on this later, but above is one of the crinoids, from the stem to the calyx to the pinnulate arms. The preservation is very odd, with most of the original calcite dissolved away and considerable carbonization and, maybe, some recrystallization. (Much of the list of preservation modes we teach!)
We’re working in a beautiful teaching lab at the University of Tartu. We have plenty of space to lay out the specimens collected by the geologists here. (These particular quarry beds are no longer accessible.) The microscopes are new and the best student models I’ve seen.
Today was mostly orientation for us in the lab. After dinner we walked down to the Emajõgi River, which runs through the campus and has been very important in Estonian history. Its name means “Mother River”. Beautiful.
